This invention relates to a pedestal and globe for holding a candle or other illumination source to form a lamp of the type used on restaurant and night club tables and the like. In the restaurant business where lamps of this type are commonly used, they are subjected to frequent movement particularly by waitresses and bus boys who always are in a hurry and sometimes careless in handling glassware. Breakage caused by employees and customers is a significant problem. It is an annoying intrusion in a dining environment to have a heavy glass globe tumble off with accompanying noise, disruption, and embarrassment of diners and restaurant staff. Table lamps of this type should be of a rugged yet economical construction that is not easily tipped over, dislodged, damaged, or broken.
Typically, the upper edge of pedestals currently in use form a flat annular surface upon which the globe rests. Globes generally have three lugs formed on the inside thereof which rest on the top annular surface of the pedestal to support and locate the globe thereon.
This construction is economical to manufacture and provides a pleasing and attractive unit. The globe can be easily removed from the pedestal when the lamp is to be lighted and operates well when in place to sustain combustion. The assembly has, however, been found to be very unstable, and the globe is frequently dislodged from the pedestal and broken under ordinary handling conditions.
Patents found in the course of a preliminary search include U.S. Pat. Nos. 896,275; 2,080,251; 2,685,023; 2,749,733; 2,820,887; 2,842,658; and 3,558,871. Of these U.S. Pat. No. 2,080,251 to Buskard appears to applicant to be the most pertinent. Buskard shows the traditional three lugs resting on the top annular surface of the pedestal. Buskard also shows a complicated flange and grooved arrangement for securing the globe to the pedestal. This arrangement while being secure is very hard to use and promotes breakage of the lugs and consequently has not found wide commercial acceptance.
Applicant's invention, as described herein, provides almost as much security as Buskard's "notched flange and grooved lug" with the same ease of use as the non-secured types.